This 3-graduate credit course will explore the learning progressions and the standards progression of the Vermont Common Core State Standards along with current research on how students develop a deep understanding of fractional concepts. Each participant will analyze student work to identify where students are on a learning progression, identify the common misconceptions, and then develop and plan next instructional steps. They will collaborate with other grade level teachers to strengthen and/or develop their fraction unit, including formative assessments and instructional strategies and lessons, with integrated technology.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will deepen their own content knowledge of fractions.2. Participants will know and understand fraction content of the CCSS across grade levels and the shifts of content.3. Participants will know the cognitive research about how children develop fractional concepts that is the basis for the learning progressions.4. Participants will learn how to identify where students are on a learning progression and identify student misconceptions.5. Participants will develop a variety of instructional strategies to promote student learning.6. Participants will develop and/or strengthen a fraction unit of study and incorporate the use of formative assessments as an instructional strategy.7. Participants will learn technology applications and games during the course so that they might incorporate them in their instruction.

About our Instructor: Betsy Allen is the District Math Coach in Essex Westford School District. Prior to this, she graduated from VMI and coached math at Hardwick Elementary. Betsy represented Vermont in several Smarter Balance Assessment projects.

Courageous Conversation Training starts Fall 2019

Math for Struggling Learners

Math for Struggling Learners This year, the course will be co-taught by Megan Grube and Erin Oliver. It runs June 24-27 at CVEDC and includes mathematical explorations, techniques for investigating student thinking, ways to build learner independence, and approaches for making instructional decisions to implement interventions.The emphasis is to first gain a deep understanding of how a struggling student understands key concepts, and then to build an intervention to address her thinking.

Using a Literacy Workshop Model – One Day Workshop

The workshop model of instruction provides a comprehensive structure that best supports learning according to the findings of cognitive science. The workshop model is an inclusionary approach, using a framework in which teachers can share focus lessons as well as provide guided, targeted instruction for small groups of students while other students build skills through purposeful, independent practice.